週プレイのラーメンアメリカ人 If you managed to take a look at this week’s 週刊プレイボーイ (Weekly Playboy), you’ll have read some big news. Major news. Crazy news. The first bit of news is that after over two years, our weekly column will be taking a bit of a break. Two years of Abram and I talking about the…

Slurp! A Social and Culinary History of Ramen – Japan’s Favorite Noodle Soup When I first heard about Slurp!, I was overjoyed. A real book, in English, detailing the history of ramen was something that was just waiting to be written. I always expected that one of the usual suspects would pen something like this;…

I’m happy to be working with Yummy Japan! to create some video content for my ramen adventures. Check it out and subscribe! http://www.youtube.com/user/brianramen So far, we’ve made about five videos, and plan on a lot more in 2014. I’d really appreciate any feedback! I’m trying to keep my videos under the 4 minute mark. Quick…

Well, the 2013 Grand Tsukemen Fest is finally over this week (November 6th, 2013). Twenty-four shops made the trek out to cook, serve, and compete in the all-tsukemen fun. My ranking for the fourth week is as follows: 錦本店 – Nishiki, from up north in Akita Prefecture, brought an awesome bowl of thick niboshi tori…

Week 3 気むずかし家 – Kimuzukashiya really brought it with this surprise winner. Beautiful fried chicken, made from local birds from the Shinshu region of Japan, were standard. They could easily have charged 300 yen for this exquisite topping. The soup was just light enough to balance with the tartar sauce and homemade pickles. And the…

大つけ麺博 Here is the order I would rank the 2nd week’s entries. I have to preface it, though, with the weather. The weather has been either frigid and rainy, or humid and warm these days. This plays a huge roll with the Grand Tsukemen Fest. The bowls are plastic, and you are sitting outdoors. Thus,…

Don’t worry, these shots are from the first week of the event. There are still plenty of opportunities to have some delicious tsukemen this year. This is what happens when you have great weekend weather and a lot of hungry people in Shinjuku! 売切れ – Urikire –  means sold out! http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en

大つけ麺博 Here are the six bowls of tsukemen from the first week of the festival, in the order I would rank them. Enjoy! 麺屋あっ晴れ (Menya Appare) is a gritty, intense tonkotsu gyokai. The quail eggs are a nice touch. This bowl was worthy of the long line. Over an hour at times. 稲葉 (Inaba) is…

And this is what the entrance looks like. Let me break it down. Be sure you buy your ticket before lining up. One ticket works for any shop. You’ll probably want the blue one. The pink is ladies size (smaller and ladies only), and the yellow one is for a 0% alcohol beer. There are…

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